Farm attacks in South Africa are unique and require a special response. What does ‘unique’ mean in this instance?
For one, they don’t appear to be random, and for another, they are far more brutal than typical crimes like robbery—or even murder. They involve extreme, excessive, deliberate violence often without a material reason, making them quite different from other violent crimes.
Quick historical context
South Africa’s recent history starts with the Dutch East India Company setting up coastal trading posts. Dutch settlers arrived, initially rarely clashing with the natives (Khoisans).
In the 17th century, Dutch settlers looking for freedom moved north.
By around 1852, they established the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State in 1854, known as Boer Republics. These republics clashed with expanding Bantu tribes (like the Zulus) and the British Empire.
The Boers were mostly farmers. (The word ‘Boer’ is Afrikaans for ‘farmer’.)
White South Africans are often seen as one group, but there are historically two main types in South Africa:
- Afrikaans-speaking Afrikaners, and
- English-speaking British.
These two groups had serious punch-ups, especially after the British took over the Boer Republics.
Today, although not entirely accurate, an English-speaking White South African might simply be referred to as an Anglo South African.
Furthermore, telling Afrikaners to ‘go home’ or ‘go back to Europe’ makes no sense. They aren’t Dutch and have no ties to the Netherlands. In fact, in many parts of South Africa, Afrikaners have been around longer than the Bantus, and have a stronger claim to the land. Many Afrikaners bought land from Khoisans, for example.
The Afrikaner people are of the finest human stock in the world. They have the greatest qualities of courage and endurance.
Winston Churchill
Extreme violence
Establishment media typically doesn’t cover the reality of South African farm attacks.
This might be because the majority of the farmers are White and the attackers are predominantly Black, and acknowledging that might look racist and, bro, we can’t have that, so we’ll say nothing.
But let’s come back to reality.
Consider the following farm attacks.
- In 2012, a 12-year-old boy witnessed his parents’ murder (including his mother’s rape) before being drowned in boiling water.
- A 56-year-old grandmother endured gang rape during a robbery that yielded approximately R40,000 ($2,000).
- A woman was sexually abused by five men for an hour-and-a-half in front of her 5-year-old son.
- Over six hours, a woman was tortured, including having her skin cut off, raped, and her feet drilled.
- A 66-year-old man was beaten to death in front of his wife, who avoided gang rape by claiming she had HIV.
- Alice Lotter, 76, and her daughter Helen, 57, were tortured to death over several hours, including genital mutilation with a broken glass bottle, and one having a breast cut off while alive. ‘Kill the Boer’ (‘kill the farmer’) was written in their blood on the wall.
- In 2014, a guy called Knowledge Mandlazi went on a killing spree, murdering five white farmers, motivated by his self-confessed hatred for whites.
Hang on.
If you read between the lines, you will notice a common denominator: extreme violence without a material reason.
I recommend watching Katie Hopkins’ documentary Plaasmoorde: The Killing Fields. (‘Plaasmoorde’ is Afrikaans for ‘farm murders.’) It’s very dark, and you’ll need a stiff drink afterwards, but it’s important because this is the reality here in South Africa.
I also recommend listening to my conversation with Simon Roche about preparing for a race war in South Africa.
The reasons for the excessive violence South African farmers face are largely unknown. While some of it might be random acts of hatred, I believe the majority is internationally backed to manufacture racial tension and fear, and create perpetual instability in the agricultural sector, which is the heart of the country.
Fighting back
The importance of the agricultural sector in food production, jobs, and economic stability turns farm attacks into threats to national well-being.
Food security is under attack.
Therefore, farm protection is not just a law enforcement issue; it’s also a national security and economic concern.
Destabilise agriculture, and everything becomes destabilised.
The removal of the Commandos, a rural defence force, has left many farms unprotected. Their disbandment in 2003 removed a key element of farm security, leading to increased vulnerability and higher crime rates in some rural areas. Basically, the Commandos primarily operated as a voluntary, part-time force within the South African Army, but usually functioned as a local militia, supporting and working under the authority of the South African Police. They were both tightly integrated and effective.
The government’s disbanding of them has widely been seen as a deliberate mistake.
Conversation
Theo de Jager is a South African farmer.
He is also Executive Director at Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI) and was, until recently, the president of the World Farmers’ Organisation.
He spoke to me about farm attacks and why it’s so important for the world to know what’s happening here in South Africa.
The brutality of these farm attacks is disproportionate to other forms of violent crime.
Ian Cameron, (former) Head of Community Safety for AfriForum
